Automatic wirehandling device



March 21, 196? N ET AL. 3,31i,31

AUTOMATIC WIREHANDLING DEVICE Filed Feb. 5, 1964 fia.

INVENTORS LOU/5 H. NETTA JOHN M 00.45

United States Patent Ofifice Patented Mar. 21 1 967 3,310,301 AUTOMATIC WIREHANDLWG DEVKCE Louis A. Netta, North Brunswick, and John M. Cole, Highland Park, N.J., assignors to The Thomas & Betts Company, Incorporated, Elizabeth, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Feb. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 341,892 3 Claims. (Cl. 26914) This invention relates to improvements in automatic wirehandling devices and more particularly to an improved means for holding a wire in the slot on the feed drum of the automatic wirehandling device until the wire reaches the positioning station.

In the automatic wirehandling device described in copending application Serial No. 287,881 and now Patent No. 3,245,135 dated April 12, 1966, a bunch of wires, to which terminals are to be attached, are placed in a hopper above a slotted feed drum. A segregating wheel located in the bottom of the hopper segregates individual wires from the bunch of Wires and feeds them into the slots on the feed drum. A triangular-shaped shroud having its apex at the point of the wire-segregating wheel is bent around the feed drum with a radius of curvature parallel to the curvature of the feed drum. The shroud tends to wipe each wire segregated by the wheel into the desired length of the slot on the feed drum. The feed drum further carries the wire to a pre-positioning wheel which horizontally moves the wire to a predetermined position prior to reaching the terminal attaching position.

It has been found that, as the Wire is picked up by the segregating wheel and carried around the feed drum to the pro-positioning position, the weight of the wires in the hopper tended to drag the wire off the drum. Through the provision of the present invention, this diffiiculty has been obviated. In general, the present invention contemplates the provision of a spring-loaded clamp positioned just beyond the segregating wheel and mounted on the stationary feed drum support. The spring-loaded clamp tends to apply a clamping action to the individual wires in the slot until the Wires are indexed around to the pre-positioning station. This clamping action is accomplished between the clamp and a safety arm (hereinafter to be described) and the shroud.

It is thus an object of this invention to provide means for holding a wire in the slot of a feed drum of an automatic wirehandling device until the wire is carried to the pre-positioning station.

It is a further object of this invention to prevent the weight of the wires in the hopper of an automatic wirehandling device to drag a wire off the feed drum during the positioning of a wire in a slot on the feed drum of the device.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the automatic wirehandling device, including the improvement of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

More particularly referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the automatic wirehandling device comprises a hopper 10, the lower portion only of which is shown in FIG. 1. Hopper has positioned therein a bundle of wires 12. A segregating wheel 14 journalled on arm 16, pivotally mounted on the end wall of the automatic handling device (not shown), is located in the lower portion of hopper 10. A feed drum 18 is provided with a plurality of slots 20 in its outer periphery. Drum 18 is mounted on stationary support 22 by suitable bearings (not shown). A shroud 24 is bent around the feed drum and has a radius of curvature parallel to the curvature of the feed drum. The shroud is positioned adjacent to the feed drum in order to wipe individual wires from hopper 10 into slots 20 on feed drum 18.

A pre-positioning station is provided at 26 and consists of a driven pre-positioning wheel 28 and an idler wheel 30. Wheels 28 and 30 move wires 12 horizontally toward the end of the drum adjacent to the terminal attaching machine.

The improvement of the present invention comprises an arcuate clamp 30 which is mounted on the end of drum support 22 by means of screws 32 positioned in slots 38 and 40 provided in legs 34 and 36 of clamp 31.

Screws 32 allow sliding movement of clamp 31 with respect to the drum support 22. Clamp 31 is springbiased against the wires 12 in slots 20 of feed drum 18 by means of springs 42 which are held in compression between the upper surface of shelf 33 of drum support 22 and clamp 31.

In operation, individual wires 12 from the bundle of wires 12 stacked in hopper 10 are segregated from the bundle by means of segregating wheel 14. Wheel 14 is spring-biased against feed drum 18 and, being in frictional engagement therewith, is driven by feed drum 18 as feed drum 18 indexes wires around to the terminal attaching position 46. A channel 48 is formed between the periphery of segregating wheel 14 and the lower wall 50 of hopper 10. At the exit point of channel 48, a wire 12 is urged by Wheel 14 into a slot 20 on feed drum 18. As feed drum 18 indexes around, wires 12 are held in slots 20 by means of arm 16 and shroud 24, shroud 24 also wiping the wires into the desired length of the slot on drum 18.

In order that wires 12 are not dragged off the drum by the weight of the bundle of wires in hopper 10, springbiased clamp 31 is provided. Clamp 31 urges wires 12 in slots 20 against the under-surface of arm 16 and shroud 24, thereby holding the wires in slot 20 until a wire 12 reaches pre-positioning station 26. When drum 18 has indexed a wire around to station 26, pre-positioning wheel 28 and idler wheel 30 move a wire 12 horizontally toward the end adjacent a terminal attaching machine (not shown).

At terminal attaching position 46, a terminal will be crimped on the lead end of a wire 12. In order that Wires which may be lodged in slots 20 after the crimping operation may not be carried around the drum, a knockoff blade 52 is provided, blade 52 being mounted on drum support 22 by suitable screws 54 or the like.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 2, clamp 31 is positioned in an annular space formed between overhanging segments 56 of drum 18 and support 22. Overhanging segments 56 provide for lateral support of wires 18 in slot 20 While, at the same time, exposing the undersurface of wire 12 to the clamping action of clamp 31.

By means of clamp 31, it is seen that wires 12 are held in slots 20 on drum 18 until an individual wire 12 reaches the pre-positioning station 26 and, at the same, the weight of wires 12 overhanging the drum and in hopper 10 is prevented from dragging an individual wire 12 off the drum.

While-the device illustrated and described represents a preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that a mechanical equivalent can be employed without departing from the scope of the following appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for handling a plurality of wires including a hopper for holding a plurality of wires, rotary feed drum means adjacent said hopper having slots in said drum for carrying individual wires to a terminal attaching position, segregating means for segregating individual wires from said hopper and for positioning said vidual wires into the desired length of the slots on said drum, the improvement comprising arcuate clamp means, said drum means having an annular space formed in the end threof such that the underside of said wires in said slots are exposed to said clamp means along a portion of said slots at the end thereof, said clamp means having an arcuate upper surface having a length such that a plurality of individual Wires may be in contact therewith, said clamp means being slidably mounted for movement toward said shroud on the end of said support means within said annular space below the surface of said drum and positioned adjacent said hopper, said clamp means having means for urging it into engagement with the undersides of said wires in said slots whereby said clamp means and said shroud coact to prevent said wires in said slots 4 to be dragged from said drum means by the weight of the Wires in said hopper.

2. The improvement in wire handling machines of claim 1 including spring bias means for urging said clamp means into engagement with the undersides of said Wires in said slots.

3. The improvement in wire handling machines of claim 2 including blade means mounted on the end of said drum to wipe individual wires from the slots in said drum after terminals have been attached to said wires.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,321,735 6/1943 Clifford 26957 2,918,923 12/1959 Morris 13194 2,952,105 9/1960 Schur 931 X HAROLD D. WHITEHEAD, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR HANDLING A PLURALITY OF WIRES INCLUDING A HOPPER FOR HOLDING A PLURALITY OF WIRES, ROTARY FEED DRUM MEANS ADJACENT SAID HOPPER HAVING SLOTS IN SAID DRUM FOR CARRYING INDIVIDUAL WIRES TO A TERMINAL ATTACHING POSITION, SEGREGATING MEANS FOR SEGREGATING INDIVIDUAL WIRES FROM SAID HOPPER AND FOR POSITIONING SAID WIRES INTO THE SLOTS ON SAID DRUM, SUPPORT MEANS FOR ROTATABLY MOUNTING SAID DRUM MEANS, AND SHROUD MEANS ADJACENT SAID HOPPER AND DRUM MEANS FOR WIPING INDIVIDUAL WIRES INTO THE DESIRED LENGTH OF THE SLOTS ON SAID DRUM, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING ARCUATE CLAMP MEANS, SAID DRUM MEANS HAVING AN ANNULAR SPACE FORMED IN THE END THEREOF SUCH THAT THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID WIRES IN SAID SLOTS ARE EXPOSED TO SAID CLAMP MEANS ALONG A PORTION OF SAID SLOTS AT THE END THEREOF, SAID CLAMP MEANS HAVING AN ARCUATE UPPER SURFACE HAVING A LENGTH SUCH THAT A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL WIRES MAY BE IN CONTACT THEREWITH, SAID CLAMP MEANS BEING SLIDABLY MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD SAID SHROUD ON THE END OF SAID SUPPORT MEANS WITHIN SAID ANNULAR SPACE BELOW THE SURFACE OF SAID DRUM AND POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID HOPPER, SAID CLAMP MEANS HAVING MEANS FOR URGING IT INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE UNDERSIDES OF SAID WIRES IN SAID SLOTS WHEREBY SAID CLAMP MEANS AND SAID SHROUD COACT TO PREVENT SAID WIRES IN SAID SLOTS TO BE DRAGGED FROM SAID DRUM MEANS BY THE WEIGHT OF THE WIRES IN SAID HOPPER. 